It pays to innovate.
More specifically, innovation can save you millions on your taxes, if your plastic injection molding company leverages the Research and Development Tax Credit. Each year, the RDTC saves U.S. businesses $10 billion every year and has helped thousands of plastic injection molding companies become more competitive in the global marketplace at the same time.
Those in our industry most likely to benefit from this tax credit are those who use a multi-discipline approach to testing and production. These are the trend-setters who will qualify for government provided tax incentives that can help take their businesses to true world-class excellence.
And now is certainly an opportune time to innovate, because the global plastics industry is making major in-roads in markets like electronics packaging and the auto industry, which is predicted to increase 75% by 2020. Within the US plastic injection molding industry, companies are seeing the same kind of trend but the pressure is on to “pour on the coal” to keep it going.
That’s because we will have competition, a lot of it. Other countries are entering the market in a major way, primarily China (of course!). Our U.S. companies have accepted the challenge, with innovations that include plastic resins that are flexible, longer-lasting and cheaper. Also improving considerably is automated machinery that reduces cycle times while still guaranteeing durability and quality.
Plastic injection molding companies are also experimenting with 3-D printing, which here-to-fore was used primarily for short-production runs but which may have improved enough for mass production. These types of industry improvements aren’t just consumer-friendly, they’re good for the environment. They also open up creative possibilities for any OEM that’s responsible for assembling the end product.
Bottom line: the Research and Development Tax Credit was enacted by Congress in the 1980s as a way to make US companies more globally competitive. It was designed to help American businesses who innovate continually—and ultimately help the country remain the greatest economic superpower in the world.